1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an inspection system for a watercraft, and more particularly relates to an inspection system for a watercraft propelled by an outboard drive (e.g., an outboard motor).
2. Description of Related Art
Many small to medium-sized watercraft, such as pleasure boats and fishing boats, employ outboard drives such as outboard motors. An outboard motor for a watercraft typically incorporates an internal combustion engine placed at the top of the outboard motor structure. The engine is coupled to a propeller or other propulsion device, which is disposed in a submerged position when the watercraft is floating on a body of water. The engine powers the propeller to propel the watercraft.
The engine advantageously includes an engine output control device, such as, for example, a throttle device, which is controlled to change the output (e.g., the speed or the torque) of the engine. For example, in many engines, the throttle device includes a throttle valve located in an air induction system. In such engines, the position of the throttle valve is changed responsive to a control input from an operator to regulate an amount of air delivered by the air induction system to a combustion chamber of the engine. In an engine having another type of output control device, the control input from the operator changes another parameter of the engine to change the output of the engine. For example, the engine output may advantageously be controlled by controlling fuel flow to the engine, by controlling ignition timing of the engine, by controlling valve timing or opening, or by controlling a combination of parameters.
In many typical engines, the propeller is coupled to the engine via a transmission. The transmission incorporates a shifting mechanism to change the coupling of the propeller to the engine to provide forward, reverse and neutral operation of the propeller. For example, for forward motion of the watercraft, the propeller is coupled to the engine such that the propeller rotates in a first direction when the engine is operating. When the shifting mechanism is shifted to reverse to cause backward (i.e., reverse) motion of the watercraft, the propeller is coupled to the engine to rotate in a second direction opposite the first direction. When the shifting mechanism is shifted to a neutral position, the propeller does not rotate although the engine may continue to operate. In addition to the forward, neutral and reverse positions, the shifting mechanism may also include positions that control coupling ratios between the engine and the propeller.
The watercraft is advantageously provided with a control unit disposed remotely in a cockpit of the watercraft so that the watercraft operator may control the throttle device and the changeover mechanism without being positioned proximate to the engine. For example, the control unit has a pair of levers pivotally or slidably mounted with respect to a body of the control unit. When one of the levers (e.g., the engine output control lever) is operated by the operator, the output control device is controlled. For example, in an engine having a throttle valve in an air induction system, the position of the throttle valve is changed to control the air flow and thus to control the engine output. When the other lever (e.g., a shifting control lever) is operated by the operator, the coupling of the propeller to the engine via the transmission is changed via the shifting mechanism to select the rotation direction of the propeller (e.g., forward or reverse) or to select non-rotation of the propeller (e.g., neutral).
Generally, in the watercraft industry, a hull of a watercraft and an outboard drive are produced separately and are combined (i.e., assembled together) by a boat builder during a final production stage of the watercraft or during a earlier stage close to the final production stage. The customer of the watercraft advantageously selects a type of outboard drive and any components, parts or accessories from those which are available on the market. The customer may also order specific components or parts from suppliers. Thus, many combinations of components may be used to rig a watercraft.
After a watercraft is assembled with the selected outboard drive and other components, it is desirable to check whether the outboard drive, components, parts and accessories work together properly. For example, the manufacturer wants to verify that engine output control lever and the shifting control lever in the control unit operate normally and that the engine output control device and the shifting mechanism within the outboard drive properly respond to control movements. Such basic operations affect the fundamental performance of the watercraft (e.g., the maneuverability and the ease of operating a watercraft). In addition, the manufacturer generally wants to assure that the output of the engine (e.g., the engine speed) and the operational mode of the propeller (e.g., forward, neutral and reverse) are properly indicated at respective indicators that are typically located in the cockpit of the watercraft where they can be monitored by the operator.
Conventionally, an inspection of the assembled watercraft with the attached outboard drive and other components is a manual operation that relies on the skills of a human inspector to apply the tests and to observe the responses of the outboard drive and other components (e.g., verifying that the outboard drive responds appropriately to the control devices and that the indicators properly show the status of the outboard drive and other components). Preferably, the inspection tests of the operability of the watercraft and the outboard drive should be done under typical operational conditions (e.g., with the watercraft floating on a body of water). Because of the reliance on human labor to perform the tests and to evaluate the results, such inspections are very costly, time consuming and inefficient, and the results of the inspections may be inaccurate.